Cumulative television audience reaches a record 734.7 million – the opening game will be among the most watched sports events in 2010

Zug, Switzerland, 4 October 2010 – Television coverage of the 2010 IIHF World Championship, held in May this year in Germany, has validated the annual World Championship as one of the most popular winter sports events in the world. Record broadcast exposure has increased value for sponsors, hitting key target markets and reaching millions of fans worldwide.

A record exposure
The 2010 IIHF World Championship had almost 190 broadcast partners in more than 100 territories and the highest cumulative television audience in the history of the event, at 734.7 million (previous record achieved in 2004 in the Czech Republic with 702 million).

 

There was an increase of around 88 million viewers over the previous event in Switzerland and of 165 million viewers above the 2008 tournament in Canada. Coverage was excellent throughout Northern Europe, Canada as well as in Central and Eastern Europe. The statistics reveal that the greatest audience numbers were in Russia with 202.8 million (2009: 163.1 million), closely followed by host country Germany with 178.4 million (59.7 million), the Czech Republic with 80.5 million (75.5 million) and Finland with 47.8 million (44 million). Programme hours totalled more than 2,466 and were high across the board.

 

This result is based on an independent, conservative programme analysis, including information provided by broadcast partners worldwide and applied exclusively to the 17 days of the tournament. The report was compiled by the German sports research consultancy IFM on behalf of Infront Sports & Media, the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) exclusive television and marketing partner.

 

A world-record opening game
The 2010 IIHF World Championship’s Opening Game – USA vs. Germany is expected to be amongst the most watched sport events on television this year. Worldwide viewing reached high levels as the event was broadcast in 90 countries. An impressive cumulative television audience of 35 million followed Germany’s dramatic 2-1 triumph in front of a world record crowd of 77,803 spectators in the sold-out Veltins-Arena, home of the German football club FC Schalke 04.

 

Full HD quality
Infront Sports & Media has been working together with the IIHF to provide broadcasters with a quality of pictures and level of support services that match the highest standards in sport today. The 2010 Championship was produced in high definition television (HDTV) quality. The production used 22 cameras in each arena and for each game. This included both in-goal and overhead centre circle cameras, allowing better coverage of the high speed ice action and making the sport even more exciting for a wider television audience.

 

Bruno Marty, Infront’s Executive Director of Winter Sports, said: “The scope of the television coverage this year has further enforced the popularity of the sport and its value as a marketing platform for sponsors. With the event taking place in Europe, most of the teams were in the same time zone as their fans. This, combined with such vast global reach made high levels of coverage even more achievable.”

 

Popular online
The popularity of the 2010 IIHF World Championship is made clear not only by high audience numbers, but also by impressive website figures. According to an analysis conducted by the IIHF, there were more than 916 million page views on the official event website – almost five times as many as for the previous event in 2009. The excitement generated by the world record and growing interest in ice hockey throughout the tournament increased demand for additional information and boosted online demand to new heights.

 

Looking forward, the 2011 IIHF World Championship is being held from the 29 April to 15 May 2011 in Bratislava and Košice, Slovakia. The tournament is the biggest annual winter sports event worldwide, with 16 national ice hockey teams from around the world coming together to play 56 exciting games and establish the new World Champion.

 

The role of Infront Sports & Media
Infront is the exclusive commercial partner to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) – a role it has occupied since 1981 - and handles media and marketing rights for the IIHF World Championship and Division 1. The group has been introducing innovations and improvements to its services on a consistent basis, including host broadcast production, a dedicated online broadcast service, B2B client servicing, graphic design and VIP hospitality. For the 2010 event, Infront also operated as co-owner of the Organising Committee through a joint-venture with the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB). This joint-venture allowed all Infront’s practical, front-line experience of organising previous IIHF World Championships to be carried forward.

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Jörg Polzer
Associate Director, Communication & PR
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
press infrontsports.com
www.infrontsports.com